Im not that old, but I do wonder at what point, if ever, is it sad to find toys/stuff designed for young people fun?
I dont like hunting and meat smokers. Or sports. Im into classic consoles and rc cars and Legos. Sometimes I feel like people have kids just so they can try to relive their own kid days. But I do that on a daily basis. Im surrounded by “kid” stuff, right down to 90s vhs cartoons and a Bop it.
My co workers would think its very odd that I spent the weekend playing atari and building legos. I guess I did put up some wood paneling too. But most other people were probably trucking their kids to sports practice and smoking a hog.
Not nearly as sad as avoiding something you enjoy just because somebody else might find out.
Misery likes company.
My SIL “jokes” that I “must be autistic” because I didn’t want to have kids and like to play legos with my niece.“You’re a very childish adult”, “you don’t want to grow up” well fuck her, you know what she likes? doomscrolling tiktok, following “influencers” and complaining about her kids. I’m VERY happy being who I am and going to keep ignoring her stupid ass
I have an uncle in his 40s, no wife or kids, just buys the newest games and locks himself in his room. Nothing wrong with doing what makes you happy.
“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up” --C.S. Lewis
The most well adjusted people I know stay in love with something/things from their childhood. Also, revisiting childhood experiences is a popular therapy exercise for recovering from mental trauma.
Lego and old console gaming are two very common things to be interested in as an adult :) If you have a genuine connection to something, don’t force yourself to sever it.
Turns out that if you do your work and pay your taxes you get to decide what to do with your money and time.
Accept that people may not like the things you do. You can always find someone enthusiastic about the same things you are online.
Don’t listen to them and do your own thing.
My household is full of Legos, plushies, little cute collectibles, consoles, board games… And there’s no children. People should enjoy whatever they want to enjoy, no matter the age or gender or whatever.
We only judge people who don’t understand how serious we take playing “Make believe”.
There’s nothing sad about enjoying the things you enjoy, thinking there are rules to follow in order to be an adult is the most childish thing you could do as an adult.
You have hobbies and you don’t need anyone to tell you that you are or aren’t allowed to have them, don’t let people who are too afraid to enjoy what they want to enjoy gatekeep you.
Do cool shit.
The only thing that’s sad is being ashamed of your hobbies and interests. Do whatever you want with your free time, I promise that nobody gives a fuck.
My fiancee and I build Legos together, play games together and there is nothing wrong with that. Rules like this are purely fictional and societal pressure. Just do what you like, you’re a grown up! Even if someone tells you you shouldn’t, you don’t even have to do something with that :)
I’m a dudely guy. I love my smoker (where do you live that they’re doing it that often? Even here in Texas it’s a niche hobby 99% of the time). I work on and ride motorcycles. Woodworking. Hog hunting, but that’s mostly to keep wild hogs from tearing up land of people I know. I love camping. Music production. So I’d be considered pretty normal, minus the sports, if someone were to know my hobbies.
But also I’ve got some plushies in my home studio. I like them, they make me smile. I’ve got a bunch of retro games on modern equipment. I read a lot of fantasy and that includes a healthy dose YA fantasy. In addition to tabletop games that a lot of folks play I have an entire shelf dedicated to kids board games that I play.
I don’t have kids. Never will. I’m the crazy uncle to everyone else’s kids and we have a great time when they’re over. And if anyone doesn’t like my childish hobbies they can go fuck themselves.
Liking kids stuff isn’t sad at all. Ever. If you aren’t harming others and you’re having a good time then anyone who gives a shit has stepped way the fuck out of their lane. If you met the most amazing person tomorrow and wanted them to be your partner and they found out about your hobbies and made fun of them, even if they were perfect in every other way, that’s not the right person for you.
Now I’m not personally a Lego person. I don’t have the concentration for it. But if I found out you were my neighbor I’d 100% offer to smoke a brisket or whatever you eat and supply some beer if you’d bring over the Atari for some Combat or have an extra RC car that we can race. That sounds like an incredible way to spend a Saturday if I’m not headed out of town.
Hell yeah, fantasy. I just finished reading all of the Discworld books in chronological order. I didn’t think I would like it jumping between characters, but it was actually refreshing taking a break from themes and characters.
I love the replies in this thread and agree with them whole heartedly.
Enjoy playing with toys. Keep that imagination strong. Don’t ever let anyone else make you feel wierd about it.
I’m 38 years old and still play with Beyblades. Do what you love as long as it doesn’t hurt others or yourself.
As someone who doesn’t generally play with children’s toys, i still say the answer is never.
As Randall Munroe said way back in XKCD #150, we’re the grownups now, and we get to decide what that means. Life is too short not to spend as much of it as you can doing what you want. So long as it doesn’t interfere with others, go wild.
Yeah, I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m 43, have a massive Lego collection, and play games in my spare time (what the kids leave for my wife and I).
(Edit) You should Google “AFOL” groups - Adult Fans Of Lego are all over the place. And even if you don’t end up joining any, they have some impressive builds!
Also look up “lego moc” (My Own Creation) for homebrew Lego creations.
Some nice sites for Lego collectors and builders:
Bricklink
Rebrickable
Brick Fanatics
Between the ages of about 13 and 17, teenagers are very sensitive to peer pressure and are also trying hard to be more mature, so they police each other’s and their own interests against being ‘childish’.
Once they’re old enough that they don’t worry about looking like kids, if their peer group is chill and non judgemental (for example, in quite a lot of colleges and universities), they relax and enjoy some toys again.
It’s common to reject the previous stage in maturity temporarily. So middle schoolers don’t want to be mislabelled as primary school children and high schoolers don’t want to be mislabelled as middle schoolers, just as college attendees don’t want to be mislabelled as school children at all etc. With enough distance, “NO!” becomes “lol, no” and people relax.
I can’t stress the importance of having a chill and non judgemental peer group for this process to work enough, though.
In a house with children, playing with the kids is always being a great parent, but can also be neglecting sharing the burden of work, and there’s a lot of work, so play activities can also be seen as negative. Maybe that’s why some of the parents aren’t into fun. Often parents try to be sensible and responsible while grandparents unashamedly have fun.
TL;DR: It’s a sign of further maturity to stop policing maturity.
